Future Postharvest and Food最新文献

Evaluation of anticancer effects on cell levels plays a crucial role in drug discovery. This guideline summarizes various methods for assessing anticancer effects and mechanisms, including cell viability, cell cycle, cell metabolism, cell damage and death, cell behaviors and function, it also briefly reviews the basic principles and specific experimental procedures. It is worth noting that it is recommended to use more than three methods to verify the accuracy of experimental results, so as to provide necessary references for the screening and evaluation of anticancer drugs and foods.

Obesity has reached epidemic statistics worldwide and there is an urgent need to explore more available options in addressing the condition. The potential of vegetables as natural sources of enzyme inhibitors that can regulate the progression of obesity is of great interest particularly due to possible synergistic antioxidant activities. In this study, we evaluated the phytochemical composition, antioxidant activities, and in vitro enzyme inhibition properties of selected vegetables as influenced by sun and cabinet drying methods. While a significant increase was observed in the phytochemical composition of most of the vegetables, the two drying methods had varying effects on all parameters. Cabinet drying yielded higher saponin (2.86–4.67 mg/100 g), phenolics (19.30–57.02 mg/100 g), and alkaloids (31.58–37.61 mg/100 g) contents while sun drying gave better results for flavonoids (88.13–234.15 mg/100 g). The DPPH (11.45%–29.61%) and ABTS (22.70%–35.48%) antioxidant activities varied significantly. Cabinet-dried cabbage and sun dried carrot flours displayed the highest inhibition against alpha amylase and pancreatic lipase, respectively. A strong positive correlation was observed between phenolics and amylase inhibition and also between saponin and pancreatic lipase inhibition. Consequently, vegetable flours could serve as versatile products for the therapeutic management of obesity and related diseases.

The processing waste from citrus fruits is the largest worldwide among other fruits. Therefore, strategies to retrieve valuable compounds are necessary to reduce environmental impact. This is because citrus waste are sources of bioactive compounds endowed with well-exploitable pharmacological activities.

This review sheds light on opportunities to transition to a sustainable food system by reducing the use of synthetic additives, preventing biodiversity loss, and creating healthy foods with the most desirable biological and nutritional value in accordance with the ONE HEALTH approach, positively affecting the preservation of the health of animals, people and the environment. The promotion of the value of the circular economy is reflected in the use of a by-product of the winery (grape pomace – GP) and weed (Sambucus ebulus L. - Dwarf Elder (DE)) for the production of bioactive substances (BAS) from which phytocomplexes (PHYCO) will be created for various purposes in achieving the ultimate goal: healthier human population. We comprehensively analyzed the benefits of the possibility that the addition of PHYCO of plant extracts and lyophilizates (LYOP) in food/feed enables the highest concentration of BAS while the doses of PHYCO are the lowest/cheapest. Such bioproduction must enable the creation of supplements (antimicrobials/antioxidants) or food with desirable techno-functional and sensory properties and preventive/therapeutic action.

The principal by-product of saffron processing, which is produced at a large level but has little market value, is saffron petals. Numerous constituents with profound bioactive potential, including safranal, crocin, picrocin, anthocyanins, glycosides, alkaloids, and kaempferol, are present in saffron petals. Saffron petal is an appropriate substitute for a variety of uses because it is less expensive and produced in greater quantities than saffron stigma. In this review, many pharmaceutical characteristics of the saffron petal have been discussed, including its anti-bacterial, antifungal, antispasmodic, immunomodulatory, antidepressant, antinociceptive, hepatoprotective, renoprotective, antihypertensive, antidiabetic, and antioxidant activity. This review also provides insight into the pharmacological characteristics of saffron and its components along with the related mechanisms of action.

Fresh fruits and vegetables (F&V), with their attractive sensory, flavors, and nutrients, occupy a highly valuable part of people's daily diet. Plenty of postharvest studies have focused on the effects of preservation techniques on the edible quality and nutrients of F&V. Therefore, it is crucial to summarize the research methods of those quality and nutritional indicators for F&V. This work reviews the measurement and analysis methods on these parameters of postharvest F&V which have been validated by numerous publications, including firmness, sugars/acids, pigments, phenols, etc. Importantly, some instruments are involved in these experimental methods, such as firmness tester, spectrophotometer, gas chromatograph, and so on. Furthermore, some promising analysis methods in the past decades combined with advanced technologies are also raised in our discussion. This work is expected to provide guidance and normative significance for future research on quality assessment, preservation, and processing characteristics of F&V.

Mushroom is an edible fungus grown worldwide because of its nutritional and commercial value. The demand for mushrooms is rising annually because of increased awareness of the dietary benefits of mushrooms. Mushrooms are a perishable commodity as they respire continuously after harvesting. Adequate packaging or processing is required to increase mushrooms' shelf life. The quality of mushrooms continues to decline after harvesting, including browning, moisture loss, texture changes, increased bacteria, and loss of flavor and nutrients. Postharvest preservation methods, including physical, chemical, and thermal treatments, are necessary to preserve postharvest quality and increase the shelf life of mushrooms. The postharvest technology of mushrooms must be improved to fulfill the increasing demand for mushrooms. There are many conventional techniques to protect the quality and increase the shelf life of mushrooms. Conventional procedures frequently result in considerable nutritional, texture, and flavor losses and shorter shelf lives. In contrast, modern technologies preserve mushrooms with increased nutritional retention, improved texture and flavor profiles, and longer shelf life. This review covers not only the conventional technologies like drying and cooling but also elaborates on the shelf-life extension of mushrooms through novel technologies like pulse electric field, pulsed light, electrolyzed water, etc.

This study focuses on optimizing the extraction of Bhim Kol banana juice using a combined approach of enzymatic extraction, hot water treatment, and citric acid concentration. Bhim Kol bananas are recognized for their distinctive flavor and nutritional richness; however, their dense pulp and thick peel pose challenges for traditional extraction methods. The research seeks to improve juice yield, flavor retention, and nutritional content by investigating the synergistic effects of enzymatic extraction, hot water treatment, and citric acid. Hot water treatment durations of 0, 20, and 40 min, Pectinase concentrations of 0, 0.4%, and 0.8%, and citric acid concentrations of 0, 0.1%, and 0.2% were explored. Experiments are designed according to the Box–Behnken design to determine optimal processing conditions. The outcomes reveal that under optimal conditions, 36.548 min of hot water treatment, 0.80% pectinase concentration, and 0.20% citric acid concentration, a 62% juice yield was achieved. This is accompanied by attributes such as clarity (0.878), lightness (L) value of 30.364, total soluble solids of 20.5°B, reducing sugar content (15.126%), viscosity (4.288 mPa.s), acidity (0.268%), and pH (4.256), respectively. These findings have practical implications for the banana processing industry, offering insights into sustainable and cost-effective methods for extracting Bhim Kol banana juice.

Fruit softening is one of the main reasons for the loss of fresh blueberry; spermidine (Spd) delays fruit softening to some extent. However, the specific mechanism by which Spd delays fruit softening is not clear. Abscisic acid (ABA) plays a key role in fruit senescence. This study aimed to investigate the effects of exogenous Spd treatment on endogenous ABA accumulation and the softening in postharvest blueberry fruits and identify the key genes in the ABA biosynthesis pathway. Harvested blueberry fruits were immersed in 1.5 mmol L⁻¹ Spd aqueous solution for 10 min. The Spd-treated fruit showed higher firmness, and lower activities of cell wall metabolism-related enzymes. Additionally, Spd treatment inhibited the accumulation of endogenous ABA and expression of key genes involved in ABA biosynthesis. The expression of VcNCED3 was significantly negatively correlated with the change in firmness of blueberry fruits. Overexpressing VcNCED3 promotes the accumulation of ABA, thereby exacerbating fruit softening. Therefore, exogenous Spd treatment inhibited the accumulation of ABA by inhibiting the expression of the VcNCED3, thereby delaying the blueberry fruit softening.

The renowned Alphonso mango, celebrated in India for its exquisite taste, saffron hue, pleasing texture, and prolonged shelf life, holds significant global commercial appeal. Unfortunately, the widespread issue of spongy tissue (ST) disorder in Alphonso mangoes results in a soft, corky texture, affecting up to 30% of mangoes in a single batch. This challenge leads to the outright rejection of affected mangoes during export due to delayed disorder identification. The current evaluation method involves destructive cutting, causing substantial fruit loss, and lacks assurance for the overall batch quality. This study addresses these challenges by focusing on the utilization of visible near-infrared spectroscopy as a non-invasive method to assess the internal quality of mangoes. Additionally, it introduces innovative classification models for automated binary categorization (Healthy vs. ST affected). Through preprocessing and principal component analysis of spectral reflectance data for feature extraction and wavelength optimization, successful wavelength ranges of 650–970 nm were identified, effectively distinguishing between healthy and damaged mangoes. Various machine learning models used notably, linear discriminant analysis, support vector machine, and logistic regression exhibited strong discriminative capabilities with higher accuracy reaching 99%. This non-destructive approach addresses critical challenges in the mango export industry, offering early detection of internal disorders and minimizing postharvest losses.